The FTSE 100 is trading sideways at a lower level as US benchmarks are down 0.9%

Just over a dozen Footsie constituents hold on to gains as investors switch to risk mode.

You have many reasons to quash the hatches: weak Chinese trade data; the likelihood of political chaos following Brexit's vote in parliament, the strength of the pound, the closure of the US government, and a poor start today on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 dropped 67 points (1.0%) to 6,851. On the other side of the pond, the Dow Jones had dropped 238 points (0.9%) at 23,778 and 24.4 points (0.9%) at 2,571.8.

"If the House of Commons rejects, as is likely, the Brexit agreement of Prime Minister Theresa May (the vote will start on January 15 at 7:00 pm), hell could go wrong if the various factions of parliament scrutinize Brexit Fighting processes. In the end, we expect Britain to reach a semi-soft or soft Brexit (55% probability) or completely reverse Brexit and stay in the EU – probably after a second referendum (25% chance), "said.

The German bank considers it unlikely that May will return to parliament with a second solution, should the first fail, even for reasons of time (only three working days).

"This would give her the rest of this week and the weekend to negotiate with Brussels and the various factions of the British Parliament, from which she must receive support. Even if the EU was ready, Ms. May will not be able to renegotiate her deal due to time constraints. The best she can hope for is that further EU clarity on the back burner is enough to get the DUP on board. If Ms. May can side the DUP, there's a fair chance that the Brexiteers and the rest of her party will follow. If Ms. May loses a second vote or passes the defeat early, Parliament will probably find a solution, "Berenberg added, adding that May does not expect his resignation, even if she's losing heavily, while she sees only a small chance for a quick choice.

LCG's Jasper Lawler expects the pound to rise above $ 1.30 within minutes of its announcement when Parliament passed a bill calling for a second referendum.

"Anecdotal, the Brexit vote seems to leave the EU without treaties from the EU, but the Parliament has little appetite. We believe that delaying Brexit by revoking or extending Article 50 is ultimately what awaits us, "Lawler said.

12:30: The strength of Pound increases the weakness of the Footsie

The pound has reached its highest level in seven months, which did not do much for Footsie's many multinational companies.

The FTSE 100 sank 73 to 6,845 ahead of a US Open, with the Dow Jones expected to open at a drop of 200 points.

"The pound has risen to its highest level in seven weeks against the US dollar as the PM [prime minister] speaks and is now not far from the $ 1.29 handle; However, markets are still very skeptical as to whether May can get the support they need tomorrow in the Commons, and a major defeat would likely kill their deal in the water, "commented David Cheetham of XTB online trading.

"In recent developments, the consensus has clearly distanced itself from the likelihood of a no-deal, but there is still a nagging doubt that this is going too fast. If traders start to worry that this could happen realistically again, the pound is vulnerable to a rapid devaluation, "said Cheetham.

"We believe that the likelihood of the UK remaining in the EU by the end of the second quarter is greater than the likelihood that the United Kingdom will leave the EU at the end of the first quarter," 14 January

For what it's worth, bookmakers give Prime Minister Theresa May no chance to pull a rabbit out of their hats.

Regarding bookmaker (), () was the top blue chip caseper after downgrading the stock from "overweight" to "balanced" and lowering its price target to 6,700p from 7,600p.

The price target for Paddy Power has also been reduced from 7,400p to 7,100p.

The Paddy Power share trades at 6,260 pence, down 270 pence a day.

Sector Peer PLC () also received treatment from and Goldman, with the former lowering its bookmaker's target price from 1,180 percent to 1,083 pence and the latter from 1,150 P to 1,100 pence.

GVC shares fell 16 pence at 703.5 pence.

11.00: Losses extend

The losses of the top stock indices have lengthened as traders began to question how the US indices will perform today.

Futures contracts suggest that the Dow Jones industry average and the S & P 500 were about 1% lower.

On this side of the pond, the FTSE 100 yielded 60 points (0.9%) at 6,858.

"US futures are lower before the beginning of the week on Wall Street, and last week's stock prices have continued to narrow after the rebound after Christmas," said Craig Erlam of Oanda.

"We now see a real test of this improved risk appetite that has emerged in recent weeks. The US stock markets have recovered to a level that was very well supported in the second half of 2018. A break of this level in mid-December led to a significant upswing in sales. Therefore, it is obvious that profit taking will be achieved when approaching from below, "he suggested.

The pound has performed reasonably well in early trading and has yielded to the currency markets, which Josh Mahony foresees, as traders are increasingly uncertain about what the future holds for the British economy.

"Brexit has rarely felt that way in the air, with a likely rejection of the May Brexit plan that takes us into a time of great unfamiliarity. It's hard to see how Theresa May will move from a stubborn claim that this is the only possible deal to a proposal for a new direction within three days, "Mahony said.

"As a no-deal Brexit becomes less likely, the likelihood of a" referendum "increases, which is part of what drives the 2019 uptrend."

The opposite approach was (), which increased 12.2% to 26.65 pence as a result of the acquisition of a majority stake in Vision Gas Limited and Vision Resources LLC.

Jay Cheatham, Pantheon's Chief Executive Officer, said the acquisition paves the way for Pantheon to take operational responsibility and decision-making power for our assets in East Texas in the future.

9.45 am: Oils weigh on Footsie

London's leading stocks continue to plummet, weighed by concern over China's economy, and worried that Brexit is still pursuing its own goal.

The FTSE 100 fell 28 to 6,890, with index heavyweights () and BP PLC () both down 1.1%, reflecting the decline in the oil price.

In the futures market, Brent crude dropped below $ 60 a barrel for delivery in March, down 70 cents (1.2%) at $ 59.80.

"It's time for May Endgame," Neil Wilson of markets.com suggests.

"The Sterling will be supported ahead of the important Brexit vote this week, albeit in the broadest part of the recent downtrend," said Wilson.

A strong pound is not necessarily good news for the Footsie as a large number of their voters earn most of their income abroad.

"The pound has found some offers from investors seeking a possible extension of Article 50. It is not so much the fact of the extension, but the apparent union of opinions about no-deal is a no. There are also reports that Jean Claude Juncker is preparing a letter on backstop insurance – MEPs are not satisfied with the assurances, so it would be wise to delineate this if we do not see something really radical, "suggested Wilson.

There is not much new flow of FTSE 100 companies leaving the field open for mid caps.

Fashion PLC () was able to gain early and rose after the well-received Christmas trade update for Christmas by 40p to 436.2p. Market speculation that this was an acquisition in the UK, however, fell ().

The Company has neither confirmed nor denied the speculation and said it will "continue to seek opportunities to acquire assets of the British North Sea in line with the Group's stated strategy".

Specifically, the group said no firm decision was taken to provide any of the assets currently being marketed by US major.

If one had purchased large pieces of assets, it could be that the company had to go to the market to raise funds, which might explain why stocks fell 9.7% at 71.75 pence.

The overthrow of Premier meant, at least, that the pledge lawyer PLC () avoided the wooden spoon FTSE 250.

Its shares fell 6.2% after the Group reported a weakening of the UK labor market due to Brexit's uncertainty.

Fourth quarter earnings of £ 211.1m were 3% above the consensus expectations of £ 205.3m, according to Liberum Capital Markets.

8:35: weak start for Footsie

As expected, the FTSE 100 started the week down and lost 35 points to trade at 6,883.38 in the first half hour.

Disappointing Chinese trade data has brought the major markets in Asia into negative territory, as reflected in London, which is preparing for more Brexit controversy ahead of the Tuesday's Crunch vote.

In the US, the government's closure is in its fourth week, and President Trump is ready to declare a state of emergency.

Wall Street is also prepared for the winning season, which is viewed with concern given the recent and unexpected warning from.

"As always, but more than usual, it's less about the actual revenue than the forecasts and the prospects that the CFOs have on the calls," said Neil Wilson of Markets.com.

"In light of the warning, the expected earnings effect of the trade war with China will be crucial.

"That could make up for all the blows – three months ago, the high number of companies that exceeded the targets was not enough to dispel the concerns of the forecasts and guidelines."

In Friday's rerun, housing stocks were well-placed, with () the Footsie leading the way up 1.5%, followed by (), which provided a fairly confident outlook last week.

In the current week, the largest part of the listed housing sector is traded for trading.

Although Next () was one of the festive winners of the retail trade, he was on the London sales list when the London arm of the influential Swiss bank downgraded its recommendation.

Fashion () was more than coveted after early Christmas holidays when the door was in demand.

The stock rose 7% early on and valued at £ 4.1bn, putting Marks & Spencer () in the lead.

Proactive headlines:

() saw its shares rise on Monday after the designer and manufacturer of smart lighting and building management solutions suggested its discussions with a potential new nomad as a replacement for Northland Capital Partners had reached the due diligence process. The Group believes that it will be possible to announce the appointment of the new Nomad on or before January 31, 2019, although no guarantees can be given at this time.

Photonstar also announced the appointment of Martin Lampshire as Non-Executive Director with immediate effect. The group said Lampshire had worked for a number of brokers in the city, including Teather & Greenwood, Hichens Harrison Stockbrokers and Stockbrokers.

(TSE: HZM) has received planning permission for the development of the Araguaia Ferronickel Project in Pará State, Brazil. The license was granted by SEMAS, the Brazilian Environmental Protection Agency of the State of Pará.

() has informed investors that all eight new holes in the East Denver project are now online as production holes. The company owns 7.5% of East Denver and expects to receive robust revenue streams from the drilling throughout 2019.

() produced 27,110 ounces of gold in the period to December 2018, exceeding the original 20,000 ounce production target for the full year. Gold production for the fourth quarter was 7,517 ounces.

(LON: SDX,) has uncovered a positive start to 2019 with the SRM-3 drilling that took place on the South Ramadan project in Egypt, paying oil in multiple reservoir zones. SRM-3 was drilled to a depth of 15,635 feet. In his primary destination, the Matulla Reservoir, he encountered 75 feet of conventional net oil payments, also 20 feet in the limestone formation and 15 feet in the Sudr section.

The Digital Marketing Company () recorded a significant improvement in underlying profitability in the second half of 2018.

Radiation Detection Solutions Specialist () is well on its way to achieving revenue growth and underlying earnings (EBITDA) throughout the year.

() has achieved the first sales of its hydrogen production systems in Australia. Four of the AIM's 250 kilowatt (kW) electrolyzers, with a total of 1 megawatt (MW) of power, were sold to three different Aussie customers.

Group Limited () has celebrated "record levels of institutional investment" in blockchain companies over the last 12 months as it released a strategic business update.

PLC () has announced a deal with Russia-focused partner Gusar, which is expected to give new impetus to the launch of POS GRIP Hub Rig systems. The AIM-listed Plexus is repurchasing $ 4.95 million of its current Gusar shares for £ 2.5 million in cash. The transaction is valued at 50.5 pence per share.

PLC () produced 14,952 ounces of gold for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, up seven percent from the previous quarter. Total gold production for the year ended December 31, 2018 was approximately 54,512 ounces.

Obtala Limited (), the Africa-focused forestry and lumber company, recorded strong year-over-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2018 and expects this trend to accelerate in 2019.

, (), a leading oil and gas drilling and production service provider in the Middle East and North Africa, announced that it had successfully exercised the one-year renewal option on its existing Admarine II contract. The Group stated that the contract extension of Admarine II, which is currently under contract and operating in the Gulf of Suez, will take effect on the expiration of the existing agreement in January 2019.

The () portfolio company Guident has appointed Daniel Grossman as its director. The UK IP investment firm said Grossman previously served as chief executive of commuter shuttle service Chariot and as vice president of ZipCar and as chief operating officer of the General Motors Mobility Division, Maven. BP August

(LON: SEE), an advanced computer vision technology company that develops AI-operated operator monitoring systems to improve traffic safety, has determined that General Motors is working on its Cadillac Super Cruise system, which incorporates the Autoblog 2019 Technology of the The award-winning Year Award includes the group's FOVIO driver monitoring technology to increase safety through direct measurement and enforcement of the driver's attention on the road.

6.30 am: FTSE 100 drops off

The FTSE 100 is expected to decline after China has been burdened with worse than expected December export figures.

Obviously affected by the trade with America, additional concerns caused the fact that the country also did less business with the rest of the world.

The major stock indices in the region had fallen, with the exception of Japan, which was closed for a holiday.

In London, the index of blue-chip stocks should be 33 points lower with 6885.18, according to spread betting companies.

More negative than positive

When entering the new trading week, there certainly seems to be more negatives than positives.

On this side of the Atlantic, MEPs vote on Brexit's withdrawal law on Tuesday – though this is unlikely to stem the turmoil.

Weekly speculation on the issue could create political chaos if the pro-keep wing of the Tory party puts into effect what is termed the "very British coup d'état" in the Sunday press.

In the US, the closure of the government is in its fourth week. President Trump is ready to declare a state of emergency.

"The markets are still selling the rally mode very well as we are still below the highs of last year," said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.

After numerous retail updates in the past week, some of the second-liners provided their numbers and market knowledge. These include JD Sport Fashion () and Associated British Foods (), owners of Primark.

Hotel builder Whitbread () has cut off the Costa Coffee business and updated a number of contractors who want to emulate the success of ().